I ONLY ride indoors - then tried a REAL RACE | Zwift to reality 

As a Zwift fan boy, it's nice to know I can pop outside and not fall off 🤣 Hope you enjoy this one 👍

Congratulations on this fantastic ride Mark! We love to see this analysis and it's great that your Zwifting transitioned into a great IRL performance! We look forward to seeing how you go next time. Ride On!

The commentary is hilarious. "I can't kick him out till he's 18. The laws in this country are a joke." You take the haters comments with much aplomb. Kudos on the race!

To the haters, I would point out that I don’t recall you ever being anything but perfectly honest about your cycling ability. That being said, I don’t know if the purist in me can allow you to call that two-wheel Batmobile you’re kicking around on a bicycle. 😉 Jokes aside, great to see you enjoying your bike!

Just a tip, coming to the end of the bike, for the last 2km raise your cadence. Above 90. You cadence on a run is significantly higher than cycling, so by raising your cadence it helps te alleviate that heavy feel in your legs with the run post cycle.

Zwift vs a spin bike is a completely different experience. My wife did peloton for quite some time and has done quite a few triathlons using it as her indoor trainer. When we upgraded to Zwift for her indoor training she immediately saw a huge improvement in cycle times. The Peloton just doesnt correlate to actual bike position for outdoor road racing.

My friend put this bike together for his son and before I knew it he was done ru-vid.comUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L When the son came to put it together he was surprised to see it was already done. All he had to do was take the bike to get air and be on his way. My friend did not have any major problems putting this bike together; small issue was putting one of the brakes on straight; however when the son got home he was able to fix it. The bike rides well gears move correctly; good bike for the price. Wrote review after the son took the bike. Sorry.

Find your local cycling club, enter some time trials and make the club ‘10’ your go to session for the week. It will make you a better rider for little outlay or effort. Then run off the back of them. Full beast mode.

Great content Mark! Thanks to you, I ran my first 10k without stopping, when like 2 months ago I could barely run 200 meters.

Well done, entertaining as ever. I am in the camp that Zwift supplements my riding and allows me do training when the weather is crap or can’t always get out. I did a 70 mile sportive last week in Surrey/Kent. Did really welly smashed all the climbs and really think all of my Zwift riding helped over the last 18 months. Noticed the same with my mountain bike, love riding outdoors still but feel that Zwift has toughened me up a lot

Fantastic effort Mark, I’ve been riding the bike for over 40 years and doubt that I’ve ever got anywhere near that average speed when riding solo. Hope your next event is even better.

Great video Mark , good to see all the Zwift training paying off ! I think you have nailed the right balance of funny , entertaining and informative to get a huge following !

The thing is Mark, it doesn't matter what other people think. You're doing far more than the average negative commenter, pluralism is good but most of the negative comments are from armchair generals who watch the tour and critique pro riders without having ever ridden a fair distance themselves. I tell people i do 95% of my distance indoor and all my structured training on zwift and they look at me like I'm a clown but when i make top 5 on a segment and they are way down the list or i produce exceptional power on road rides outdoors and I tell them its strava power not an uncalibrated power meter all of a sudden I don't get invited on group rides anymore. They don't understand what zwift really is and what you can achieve when you know how to make the most of it. Zwift is a great tool, because it offers repeatable training conditions with great measurement and data precision in a safe environment. I ride by myself outdoor mostly because no one wants to ride with me anymore and thats ok, i'm a MTB'er anyway and there aren't many people who want to ride 80km + offroad to begin with which is fair enough, i wouldn't want to be in the company of anybody who wasn't up tobthe challenge of testing themselves anyway. Don't let anyone ever cast doubt on your achievements and your ability. You're a savage and multi talented individual.

Another great video Mark, you're smashing it! The bike/run feeling is also due to the cadence of your legs. When you start to run it feels slow because your cadence is slow, but when you look at your watch you usually realise you're going faster than you should be! The feeling will definitely improve the more you do it. Keep up the great work.

I my defence, I was a very avid cyclist for many years until about 2016 where I changed over to ultra marathons (100 miler runs etc). My cycling went down to maybe 10 rides a year for the last 5 years. In July 2021, I joined a coach who put me on Zwift for the first time in my life. I rode Zwift maybe 3 or 4 times a week using structured workouts, and did ONE outdoor 95km cycle. Two months pass... I line up at a MTB race (which I have won in the past a few times dating back to 2010), and pulled out a podium in 3rd place from a field stacked with guys in their early 20s (I'm 42) and haven't done a MTB race in years. So yeah, Zwift CAN indeed get you into good cycling shape. Love the content Mark, I relate to lots of your vids.

Hah great race report! As a more experienced triathlete, I can give you a few surefire tips - with just more run practice, you'll run really well both before and after the bike. And transitions will improve from 2 minutes to

I'm not even into cycling (more into running) but this video is a prime example of why I love this channel. It's clever and I love the side comments (rude mum commenting, kid laws in the UK, etc). Keep it up!

Great results and good to see the indoor bike training actually transfers very well! Funny vid too - nice one 👌

Thanks for this video. I was thinking about signing up for a duathlon next year. I am primarily a cyclist and so I have been trying to run more (outside and on Zwift).

Almost the weekend, new video drop and its an unexpected bonus seeing it as some actual outside cycling - nice change of pace on the content, and great commentary - thanks!

Thanks for your informative videos I find them entertaining as well as inspiring. At the age of 66 I am setting up my Zwift account and starting to train to be "better than average" in my age group. I plan to use training and the attrition of men my age to create a winning statistic . Mostly training

Love it and I can't wait to see your Super Sprint. I always thought because I do longer distances that I could crush a sprint, but I'm nervous a sprint might crush me, as I feel I'd try to push a pace I just can't sustain. I'll let your race be my test case :)

Zwift is an incredible training tool not only because you have all the numbers and stats in front of you but also because it pushes you way harder that when you're riding outside. I am 100% sure that any cyclist can only improve when alternating between training indoors and outdoors.

Loved, the humour and humility - great work bud. I have been an outdoor gravel type track rider for 10 years but my riding buddy has moved to Tasmania. So I got the Kickr and Zwift and have been riding hard. The buddy came back for a week and we did our normal rude. Real world riding felt easier than zwift lol. Granted the buddy had not ridden since he left but I felt so much stronger with more power than in previous sessions. Love Zwift. Love the outdoors also.

I don’t have any interest in bike races, but your entertaining presentations always have me captivated. Good job, Sir!

Great job on the race and the content, enjoyed feeling your enthusiasm! Good luck on the Super Sprint in Beast Mode!

First time viewer. Great content and you are an amazing story teller! I have a spin bike and road bike. It was 3:30 AM when I finished my spin this morning. Your video came up below the spin routine I follow on RU-vid. Glad it did! You're awesome!

Very well done, looking forward to hearing how the 2nd race goes :)

Great content! As a beginner I found it helpful volunteering for these events and watching everyone has helped me gain insight on how I can do things on race day.

Great effort Mark , and good results! In a future video It would also be interesting to see your normalized power compared to your average power and see how consistent you were in your effort.

Having done duathlons, I will say that going from running to cycling is a great way to understand how far you have come with your cycling development especially in regards to your pedal stroke (Good = legs feel strong, quads don't blow up, Bad= there's a new clip of you falling off your bike) #spinclasswarrior. Your description of the 1st K after the cycling is SOOOOO accurate #drunktoddlerrunning . Good stuff

the quality of this video is insane, from the great commentary to the detail of putting conversion of units. You make me wanna get back into cycling and triathlons haha. Cheers!

Stumbled across this video looking for something else and I totally loved it. Honest and direct. Awesome!

Another great video Mark and an awesome result. I did the same course as part of the olympic triathlon earlier in the year and loved it. Dorney is an amazing venue and I’ll definitely be back for more next year.

Brilliant, the transition having only got into cycling last year and trying a duathlon is a lesson in itself!

"Real life has done a pretty good job of ripping off Zwift" ... Hahaha. I love it!

Great work, glad you enjoyed it! Love the zwift content but as both an indoor and outdoor rider I’m interested to see you apply your perspective to the world of outdoor riding.

Helpful and had me laughing! That was a great bit. Congrats on a good ride. FWIW...I trained exclusively indoors for my first 2 years of triathlon because of our work schedules and being home to take care of 4 kids while my wife worked nights as a nurse. All of those rides ending at midnight beat the heck out of not riding at all!!

I would get a gravel bike for the winter. The trails you run on are perfect & will give you a big amount of confidence in bike handling, whilst getting off the roads. Also lovely rides in nature. See you in Hamburg next year 😉

I subbed. Love that you are human and make mistakes and are proud to show us the bloopers as highlights and dont leave anything out to try and keep a clean perfect image. Keep em comin! More power.

As someone who is new to cycling both indoor and outdoor, as I'm looking to do my first Triathlon when Covid allows. This video is really helpful and highlights areas that I need to practice. Thanks

Nicely done, especially the cycling. You’ve already identified the areas for improvement. Zwift is excellent for improving your cycling because it allows you to be consistent year round and you can do interval training safely.

Fair play Mark! The most important thing is that you enjoying it. Look like you have a lot of fun. You are very inspiring. Keep up the good work! 👍👍👍💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻🥇🥇🥇🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Nice effort, and a great intro to the world of duathalon…..seems a flat Dorney Lake could be a great place for beginners. I’m a 47min 10k runner, but don’t have a time machine for a bike….and it seems that’s where you crushed it 👍….I’ll start the zwift training plan and get ready for next year I think 👍🏃‍♂️💪

Love love LOVE the content; free flowing and no nonsense!

Oh man, I just stumbled across this video. As a long time road biker, and a spin-class hater, I gotta say you're great. Your comment about Nature ripping off Zwift put me on the floor. And you got a great lesson out of it too! Keep going outside and try out drafting with a group. It's like a ballet with gears. And as big as you are EVERYBODY is gonna want to ride with you on windy days. Cheers!!

I spent years with a monkey on my back... Never a dog though! Lol I love your content man! Truly inspirational! Subscribed and can't wait to see you progression. I just started 2 months ago and it's motivational seeing your process and results!

Just found this channel browsing for F7/Epix comparisons and I just wanted to tell you that your videos are really quite terrific. Laughed out loud a couple of times. Good job!

Nice work! One suggestion for run off the bike: for the last couple of mins on the bike keep your cadence at ~100RPM. Using higher turnover it will feel easier for the legs. Exxited for the next race in November!

I don't do Swift but I do spend most of my cycling time these days on my turbo doing GCN sessions. This year I have cycled 7,000 kilometres of which 5,000 have been on the turbo & 2,000 on the road including an 800 km 6 day ride across Italy. My road bike is now hanging up on the wall until the end of March 2022 when it will be coming down to prepare for a 6 day tour of the Sierras in Spain! Great video and happy turboing on Swift or otherwise! 😊

First time viewer. Great content and you are an amazing story teller! I have a spin bike and road bike. It was 3:30 AM when I finished my spin this morning. Your video came up below the spin routine I follow on RU-vid. Glad it did! You're awesome! 10 friends short of a spin class🤣😂 Classic!

This was a really really good race review video. Your getting me want to get a new bike again.

When you can, try a road race! You'll find it enormous fun. No transitions. But you have to watch yourself, and all the other people around you! Well done on the TT part.

Been considering getting a wahoo kickr as its not always easy to get on the bike in daylight hours with family commitments etc - this has pretty much convinced me that its a good idea. Thanks!

Mark, I'm really glad I found your channel. You are very funny and informative. Thanks for the information and content. (from across the pond).

Love the video, never seen your videos before but great stuff, great commentary. Dorney a great place for Duathlon and triathlon. I find jumping on the pedals coming out the corners makes the start of the second run a little easier, but my legs still feel like crap.

Awesome work!! Loved the vid, super entertaining, thanks for sharing. Congrats on the performance too!

Thanks for posting this inspirational video. I'm a "returning" rider who was a runner but who now has tricky knees that make running a day-to-day crap shoot. Next month I'll be 62. I am just getting my Zwift setup completed, but my road bikes are up and running. All I want to do is increase my fitness level, drop a few lbs, and have fun. Zwift will not be my primary means of accomplishing that; it's bad weather fallback that I will do because I can.

As someone who has raced for over 20yrs I think you did an awesome job and like anything the more you do the better you'll get and as you do get slicker races can be lost in transition but great job

Brilliant! "Oh they will catch me, my legs don't work". Been in exactly the same situation 🤣. Great job, well done. Try the velodrome next.

Thoroughly enjoyed, love the content. Looking forward to your BEAST mode November results. Nothing less than top 10! 😉

Congratulations Mark. A lot of the top time trialists do the bulk of their work indoors on the turbo these days and you are obviously on the right track. You probably just need one ride outside per week so that you feel more comfortable and get better used to your position on the bike (and your perfect your ability to actually see here you are going!) I too recommend finding a local cycling club that runs weekly time trials through the summer and hitting those 10’s, by doing this regularly my speed has increased significantly. Good luck on the 13th.

Brilliant video Mark! One of my favourites!! 💪🏼💪🏼

Love your videos, there's the transient comic humor about it but also really objective. Good job.

that bike is the delorean of bikes!!! very futuristic. “where we’re going, we don’t need roads” -Doc

Some people will always find something to blab about. Please, keep doing what you are doing. You are actually an inspiration to many people out here, including me. Thank you, Mark! 👍

Great report from the unusual perspective of 100% indoors transitioning to outdoor riding. Good luck in the next event. Are you tempted to do some closed circuit races next year? Would necessitate a new bike (yay) but once you develop the race craft I think you would have success given your strong sprint.

Great job Mark, inspirational stuff!

I appreciate the US conversions! I'm really enjoying poking around your channel, I'm surprised it took you this long to do a multi-sport!

Great video, very interesting to hear the viewpoint of someone riding outdoors after plenty of experience indoors. Keep up the great work. #bemorelikerob

Great little vid mark, just come across you while looking at tri and cycle stuff on utube and great to see another person that does nearly all the training on zwift 😄 Going outdoors and picking a duathlon is a big well done over just a cycle race as there so tough on the legs if not adjusted to run off the bike, think most triathletes at the start have bad legs at start of final run and the transition is a big part of a good race day and love your honest approach to taking this on, brings back some great memories when I started tri and duathlon racing as a newbie, 10’years ago 🤩 The buzz of a race brings and the fun factor which comes over really well in your vid It just proves really if you do the training be indoors or outdoors will bring benefits for hobbies and fitness 🏊🏻‍♂️ 🚴‍♂️ 🏃‍♂️ 😁

Now I want to do a duathlon. No place to practice swimming, but this bit sounds fun! I will try one on Zwift this winter.

Nice one Mark. I usually complete one handicap road race per week (about 65km) and one Zwift race (minimum 30km prefer 40km) per week. My power numbers between the road and Zwift have been pretty much identical for years. Many of the tactics are also similar. The road race is a little harder because its longer and you usually need to dig a little deeper but Zwift races are excellent preparation.

Nice mate ! Keep on pushing on ! F* those negative comments. you’re an inspiration to us trying to achieve a better version of ourselves. All the best on your next race 💪🏻!

Congrats on the great race, can't wait to hear how November 12th goes!

Nicely done!! and good luck with the next race!

I just started cycling indoor and hope to get strong enough to do a duathlon in real life. You inspire me!

Hey, Mark, I’ve been riding and racing at different levels since I was 11 or 12 and I’m 45 now. Zwift is an amazing tool and there’s a reason so many bike racers use it, power is power. Fun channel you’ve got here. One thing Zwift is totally useless for is getting a feel for the wind and how a course actually rolls. In racing on the road and tt’s, even rolling stretches on marathon MTB races, you learn to tweak position to cheat the wind. Head discipline with an aero helmet is also important. I don’t know what your work-life balance and time commitment is, but it might be worth spending some time just on a drop bar road bike to get a clearer idea of handling and wind. Multi sport athletes have super high crash rates not because they’re bad handlers, but because they learn that handling in the least stable position on a bike. Congrats on a solid ride!

Haters will always be haters. They’re just mad cause they’ve been riding for 10+ years and have half your FTP. They’re the folks who label their weekend strava group rides “easy ride” while actually trying to race everyone in the group and have no idea what an actual zone 2 ride is. Keep smashing it man!

Superb! Well done Mark. I've made all the same errors on a couple of goes I've had at Tri and Duathlon. I'm sure the Tri shoes will make a massive difference in transition. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you get on against some bikers that are not runners, rather than some runners that also bike a bit 😂 ps I hope you get the ankle tag off soon

Awesome work. Well done Mark. With regards to proper tri shoes - they’re not for everyone. Having tried everything in the past, I’ve gone back to wearing my normal road shoes - just learnt to get them on and take them off quickly. Whilst there is time to be made up when getting off the bike doing a flying dismount with your feet out of the shoe, that time saved is easily lost fannying about for the first few minutes on the bike trying to get your feet into yours shoes properly whilst not running into anything - and I’m still well above average. Plus…..normal road shoes are just comfier and the straps seem to hold your feet much better than tri shoes. A lot of the pro’s wear normal road shoes for half and full Ironman as well these days. Other than that, loving your vids, story, journey and progression - keep it up!

same here! just did my first outdoor race in 6 months and i did really well!

This was a great video! Thanks for posting

Great video Mark, loving the recaps.

Thoroughly enjoyable video. Bike to run transition always reminds me of those thumb push puppets.

Well done. Loved your mom's comment...

Mark the 10k was a very respectable time can’t believe u didn’t place higher for that. As for the bike it’s still a hard ride because there’s no drafting it is basically the race of truth aka a time trial. Well done big man great race, great vid !

Great job Mark! Video always entertaining as usual.

You had me at “this was me” love every video... regards Mark from Aus....🏋️‍♀️🚴‍♂️

Very good numbers on the bike!!! Great work!

Great storytelling, hats off for a great improvised race !

Really like your content! Always fun watching your videos

Awesome content, Mark. Loved it all the way..🎉

Man i was waiting for this kind of content. Will watch it now!

first video I've watched of yours, instant subscribe and like. Congrats on the race Mark.

Signed up for my first triathalon this year! Never been a bike rider before (or a swimmer, or a runner) but pleased to know I can get some indoor practice ahead of september!

First video of yours I have seen and I love it! Hilarious, humble and hardcore - not a mix you come across often! Awesome

That was absolutely brilliant 👏 👌 🙌 brought back great memories. 👍

Well done, enjoyable video, great result!

Nice video, I like your dry humour and clean cut presentation and story telling 👍🏻